


Broken Butterfly

by sochicshu



Category: (여자)아이들 | (G)I-DLE
Genre: Action, Action & Romance, Angst, Drama & Romance, F/F, Guns, Lime, Mimin - Freeform, Science Fiction, SooSo, Thriller, Violence, Zombie Apocalypse, minqi, mishu, shuqi, yeonjin, yqsh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:26:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 18,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25681282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sochicshu/pseuds/sochicshu
Summary: (g)i-dle were at minnie's country house for a short vacation when zombies suddenly surrounded the house. they've been trapped in that house for two months now. their food stocks are declining and the tension between them are increasing.and meanwhile, the hidden truth was about to come to light.
Relationships: Cho Miyeon/Minnie Nicha Yontararak, Cho Miyeon/Yeh Shuhua, Jeon Soyeon/Seo Soojin, Song Yuqi/Minnie Nicha Yontararak, Song Yuqi/Yeh Shuhua
Kudos: 22





	1. PROLOGUE

**Author's Note:**

> \- this one is my first au
> 
> \- english is not my first language
> 
> 💐i hope you enjoy!💐
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/sochicshu)  
>  [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.qa/sochicshu)

"wait!" shuhua cried to the older one who was just leaving the room. they were in shuhua's room, and both were standing. yuqi stopped and turned.

"i didn't mean to hurt you, i'm sorry. "

it was the first time that yuqi had seen shuhua like this. her tears were falling down on her cheeks. yuqi couldn't say a thing because she was about to cry, too, while trying not to cry.

"i mean i don't want anybody to be hurt in a time like this, but what i said is the truth yuqi-"

"shut up!" yuqi shouted interrupting shuhua's words, which startled shuhua. "you don't understand, shuhua. it's doesn't matter if it's the truth or not. you shouldn't have said that. it should've stayed as a secret, forever."

"why? why do I... no... why do _we_ have to do this to ourselves? yuqi, please. i know you are feeling the same as i do. i can see it in your eyes. i can feel it in your glances towards me. so please, i'm begging you, be honest to yourself. at least once think of yourself." shuhua said approaching yuqi.

 _'honesty'_ yuqi had always been honest, both to herself and the others. but when it comes to her feelings for shuhua, she could never admit it. she didn't want to accept it, so she was ignoring all the time. _'don't think, don't say out loud, then it never exist'_ this was her saying.

shuhua got closer to yuqi wiping her tears, but yuqi didn't notice because she was looking at her feet. she was feeling neither her feet nor her brain and was so excited. _'what's with this feeling?'_ she thought. her hands were slightly trembling. shuhua was so close to yuqi. she touched the older one's chin and lifted it up. now they were face to face, and their lips were craving to touch each other.

"no more secrets" said shuhua gently touching yuqi's cheek. her soft breath hit the older one's lips.

this gesture and the closeness gave yuqi butterflies. she knew what was going to happen. shuhua's body was burning, and yuqi felt the warmth. she wasn't thinking anymore. her dizzy brain didn't let her think. she really did want shuhua.

then yuqi was the one who closed the distance between their lips. kissing her slowly, she wrapped her arms around shuhua's waist. shuhua's little moan made the kiss more intense. they both felt as if the undefinable feelings were formed as butterflies and flying around them.

they forgot their struggles to survive. they forgot zombies. they forgot the screwed up world they live in. what would happen next? they didn't think. what yuqi said doesn't matter was nothing but 'the next' at that moment. they could live with their truth anyway.

but what about the other ones? the ones who love them?


	2. Tension

* * *

**minnie's country house in the estate (representative) :**

****

**the house plan (represantative):**

© these pics are not mine all credits goes to the owners

_two months ago (may) - the outbreak day_

"oh.my.god! minnie, this place is huge! how long did it take from the enterance of the estate to here? 10? 15? and how many bathroom does this house have?" yuqi asked while getting off the car excitedly. they just arrived minnie's country house. the girls were here for the first time. when they heard minnie's suggestion they had jumped for joy. minnie wanted a short holiday with her friends, so she decided to come here with them. it was a good idea to get away from the busy life of theirs.

"the house is not that huge. it just has 4 bedrooms, 3 full baths, 1 half baths, a two-car garage and a few other rooms and so on "

"are you flexing on us now?" yuqi said with a fake sulk. minnie laughed and kissed the girl quickly. then asked her for help with the luggage.

they came here with two cars. one is miyeon's (white range rover) and the other is minnie's (black audi). soyeon has one too (yellow kia) but she didn't want to drive, so she had asked minnie to pick up herself.

soyeon got off minnie's car after yuqi and minnie, meanwhile, shuhua and soojin were getting off miyeon's car as well. shuhua stretched and took off her sun glasses to look around more carefully. when they were on the road , she felt something strange but she thought she was being pessimistic, and therefore, kept her silence. miyeon reached shuhua putting her arms around shuhua's shoulder and gave shuhua a quick peck on the lips, which drew shuhua out of her deep thoughts.

"isn't it too hot? god i'm sweating so much" shuhua whined. the weather was abnormally hot indeed.

"not as hot as you" miyeon said this to make shuhua smile a little. she was aware that shuhua was not in a good mood for a while then. shuhua didn't say a thing and just smiled.

"i talked with the housekeepers before we came. the air conditioners are on. let's take our luggage inside." minnie shouted shuhua with a big smile. they carried the luggage inside, passing through the entrance.

"as you see, foyer opens to the big dining room, on the left there's a big kitchen, and on the right there's a big great room with a big fireplace. there's a big TV on the wall above the fireplace. and this big soft gray sofa suite gives the room chill atmosphere. you can reach the big porch through the left d-"

"seriously minnie?" said soojin. "we don't need a _big_ house tour now. we can look around later." soojin sat on the sofa complaining. she was so tired and wanted to sleep immediately.

while the others were looking around respectfully soyeon sat next to soojin. "why are you being so sulky? did something happen? shuhua has been frowning, too, since we set off."

"i don't know about shuhua, but i'm sulky because of you."

"what? why?" soyeon asked.

"i'll park my car in the garage." minnie said, silencing the girls. "let's go miyeon!" she hold miyeon's hand and took her to the outside. both parked their cars safely. minnie was waiting for miyeon in front of the inside door when miyeon got off her car and locked it.

"i guess you made peace with your father." miyeon asked curiously. she took a few steps towards minnie.

"what do you mean?"

"last week you said you had a quarrel with your father because of the girlfriend issue. right? yuqi? "

"yes i know that. but why are you asking now? "

"minnie, we're in your father's country house now? you must have talked with your father"

"the quarrel doesn't have to do with the house. this house is not my father's only. also his entire property passed from father to son. this means that the whole heritage he has is ours, so is the house. i can use it whenever i want." minnie got angry. "also, why tf are you thinking that? live the moment!"

***

"i want to walk around, but minnie is still not here. why are they taking so long to come?" yuqi said raising her voice.

"yah! stop whining already. can't you walk around by yourself?" shuhua shouted.

"i don't want to! i might get lost and can't find you guys!"

"how can one get lost in a house?! stop talking nonsense!"

soojin stood up. "these two are always so loud whenever they talk with each other. i can't. i'm going there. " she was pointing the door in the kitchen that is a bit far. yuqi and shuhua kept shouting at the back.

"i'm going with you too. these girls are really noisy." soyeon said joining the soojin team. they went together.

when the girls shut their mouth for a moment, they realised they were alone. suddenly, the atmosphere went awkward. yuqi wanted to break the silence.

"uhm... so-"

"do you want to walk around with me?" shuhua asked abruptly. _'why did it sound so weird?'_ she thought to herself.

"s-sure. why not? you idiot, you could have asked before." yuqi murmured her last sentence, but shuhua heard anyway.

***

"okay? calm down first, will you? i just wondered if you had fixed something up. sorry(!)" miyeon was offended because of the minnie's sudden changing attitude. she headed to the door but minnie blocked her.

"wait okay, okay. i'm sorry. "minnie said in a hurry. the only person she had talked about it was miyeon. she always go to miyeon to talk about the issues that she can't talk with the others, even with her girlfriend. _'miyeon is at my age, and her advices are reliable, that's the reason'_ she thinks.

miyeon didn't answered. she went to the others quickly leaving the girl behind. on her way, she thought about the morning of the day they all met.

***

_ miyeon flashback (about a year ago) - the day they all met _

"baby, are you done? we're getting late!" i shouted to my girlfriend in the bathroom. "shu?"

"i'm coming, just a second!"

_what a lovely voice. i can listen to her all day and night. i and shuhua have been staying in the same house for a month now. i remember the first time i saw her. she was so cold and chic. then she had a financial problem because of her family issue. she didn't talk about that much. i only know her family is in taiwan. it was a sudden decision but i told her to stay at my house. i was working so there was no problem. at first she didn't accept it but eventually she had to do so. because there was no other way to stay in here for her. then our journey began. as we get to know each other i realised that despite having the goddess beauty, she is the cutest baby like a puppy._

"love, i'm ready...miyeon?"

"oh, sorry."

"what are you thinking?

"nothing baby. let's go!"

shuhua told me that she wanted me to meet with her friend called minnie. she said minnie is at my age and is a junior student at her college.

"are sophomorons coming?" i asked on our way to the café.

"why don't you stop calling them like that?"

"i don't care. they should've said me they're girlfriends."

"they are _ex_ -girlfriends."

"doesn't matter..."

she rolled her eyes. " yeah they are coming." she coughed a little. "oh and minnie's girlfriend is coming too."

"wow everyone is gay huh?" she chuckled to my words. _beautiful_

"so who's minnie's girlfriend?" she didn't answer. _huh?_

"baby?"

"her girlfriend is my classmate, which i learned when minnie brought her to the café last week."

"i see. so you've met her already. what's her name?"

"you'll meet her soon after. focus on your driving, love."

***

_back to the outbreak day_

in the hall there are two doors on the right end which opens to the second and the third bedrooms and two doors on the left end which opens to a linen and the fourth bedroom. shuhua and yuqi wandered all of the rooms on the right side of the house in silence. there had been awkwardness between them recently. they didn't know why but it was there. then they went back to the great room.

"look! there is an another room over there." yuqi pointed the door on their left. she headed to the door. shuhua followed after her.


	3. Books

* * *

the two girls rushed to the master bedroom while miyeon passing from the entry to the kitchen. she didn't see them.

"well, that was pretty interesting." soyeon said after cleaning her throat. she threw herself to the bed.

"soyeon, you didn't hear anything, neither did i, okay? keep your mouth shut. we may upset minnie if she learn we overheard the conversation." soojin replied sitting next to her.

"okay girl, i know. i'm not dying to tell her we _eavesdropped_ them anyway. still, i wonder why she didn't talked about this."

"she doesn't have to tell us everything she's been through." soojin growled.

"still, i wonder why she didn't tell her girlfriend."

"and this interests you because?"

soyeon waited a little before replying. "are you still mad at me or something? because you're so grumpy."

"why did you asked minnie to pick up you? instead, you and i could have come with your car."

"so that is the issue, i see, but that would be pointless. two cars are more than enough for six people."

"okay."

"however, you could have just...asked me for it in the beginning. i didn't think you'd want to be alone with me."

"i didn't say anything like that! i'm just thinking about the girls. they may want some privacy, you know."

"oh, okay." soyeon pouted.

"what?"

"nothing."

***

having opened the door, yuqi entered the room with shuhua.

"it's a library." yuqi said.

it was a well-designed library with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, and there was a cozy window seat. shuhua had already started to look around.

"these are all history books." yuqi said with a big smile.

"you really love the books, huh?"

"yes, especially history books. oh look! they are sorted by continents. see? these are related to the history of asia, and those are about the history of europe..."

yuqi was pointing the books that looked all the same for shuhua. although they didn't have much in common, shuhua always liked yuqi's enthusiasm.

"wait, why is there a book called 'above' ? i guess it's not a history book." yuqi saw a strange book on the top shelf. " _hmm_ , why is it there?"

"i don't know, but i'm sure it's nothing important."

"i'll check it out."

yuqi headed to the ladder to get to the top shelf.

"hey guys! what are you up to?"

miyeon showed up, out of the blue. it was her thing.

"oh my, miyeon, you scared me!" shuhua shouted.

she chuckled and hugged shuhua. minnie came right after.

"hey gays! you can read the boring books later. come, we will choose the bedrooms . after that, we can have lunch."   
she peeked miyeon's face to find out if she's really mad or not. ' _no clue'_

shuhua and miyeon left the room first.

"why did you take so long to come?" yuqi asked.

"ohh, did my lover miss me?"

"not the point."

"we chatted a little, sweetie. nothing important."

minnie leaned forward with a grin and kissed yuqi. yuqi kissed her back. at first minnie's lips brushed the younger's lips. the soft kiss is followed immediately by a stronger kiss. just then, yuqi pulled herself back.

"w-what happened?" minnie stuttered.

"nothing. girls are waiting for us. let's go." she left the room quickly.

actually, yuqi was worried as she felt nothing. therefore, she thought she had to stop.

minnie came the dining room after yuqi and saw soojin looking in the high-end refrigerator, while soyeon was sitting on one of the breakfast bar stools, silently.

"are you hungry soojin-ssi?" minnie asked.

"i was just looking for a cold drink." soojin replied.

minnie called the other girls. miyeon and shuhua sat beside soyeon.

"now, let's draw lots for the bedrooms."

after preparing the papers minnie asked, "so who's gonna take first?" she was holding the papers in her palm. there was a silence. "okay...the younger one, you take first."

shuhua did what she said and took the 3rd bedroom, and yuqi took the 4th one.

"this means that we couples are staying next to each other!" minnie exclaimed.

the 3rd and 4th bedroom has a shared bath on the right side of the house. 2nd bedroom with a seperate bath was there, too. and the master bedroom has it's own private bath on the left side of the house.

then soyeon took the master bedroom. "wow, i'm so lucky today."

"but that room is so large for you, tiny girl. how about staying with soojin?" minnie giggled. they both looked at soojin.

"okay." soojin mumbled.

"then it's done. now go unpack your suitcases. after that we'll have lunch. by the way, soojin, can you cook something for us?"

"if someone helps me, why not?"

minnie looked around. girls had gone in a flash.

"what the-...yah!" she squealed. "argh fine! i'll help you."

after the lunch, all the girls were feeling very tired. they went to their rooms for a little nap.

minnie woke up first. yuqi was still sleeping on her side. she took her phone and looked at the clock.

"10:30! (pm)" she screamed. "oh my god! how did this happen?"

they had slept all day. there was something strange in the air, but the girls had yet to aware. she woke her girlfriend in a hurry.

***

"okay so, after this horrible accident, i have something to make us feel better, i'll be right back! " minnie said with a smile, heading to the outside door.

all of them were feeling bad because they slept for hours during the day. they were in the great room. soojin and soyeon was on the floor against each other. the carpet was so soft that soojin could sleep again. she was still so tired.

"what time is it now?" soojin asked the girls.

"it's 10:45 (pm)" shuhua responded looking at her wristwatch. just then her phone buzzed.

"nice watch."

"thanks, my father gave it to me on my last birthday." she took her phone out of her pocket. it was a message from her father. she didn't open it.

"i don't know why he gave it though." shuhua added, putting her phone back into her pocket.

"what do you mean? is it not normal to give a present to one's daughter?" miyeon inquired.

"it is normal of course. but, for the first time my father gave me a present other than money."

"well, everyone changes." yuqi joined the conversation.

"you think so?" shuhua asked in chinese suggestively.

yuqi did not pay any attention to the question. miyeon went on asking questions.

"by the way, when will you introduce me to your parents? you're my girlfriend for a year now, but still i don't know them."

"love, they are in taiwan and are not very interested in my personal life, also we're in england now, so we can think about it later. "

"that's just an excuse. give me a date and we'll go."

meanwhile, minnie was looking for the caretaker to make him bring the drinks.

her father, mr.yontararak, owns one of the largest advertising companies in thailand called YNT Group. and he had recently collaborated with a british alcoholic beverage company. the ceo of that company gave 2 dozen double-magnum bottles of wine to mr.yontararak as a mini celebration. and mr.yontararak put them in the wine cellar of this house. minnie heard this from her mother.

she thought the caretaker might be at the garden office opposite the house, so she went there quickly. but he wasn't there. instead, the keys of the cellar door was there hanging on the wall.

she shrugged off. "i guess it's up to me now." then she went back to the house.

the girls were looking at minnie in a curiosity, who was shaking the key.

"let's get this party sta-" minnie stopped because the electricity was gone. it was 11:00 pm.

***

_shuhua's_ _latest message from her father_ \-  _ 10: _ _ 45 _ _pm_

_shuhua why don't you pick up your phone? shuhua i'm so sorry i should have talked about this before. but please do not judge me, just follow my orders for now._ _the disease, Purge-20, spread early than they expected, by accident. 'above' has the antidote but will not use it. they decided to continue the plan._

_minnie's father has an underground bunker in that house. find it and hide there!_

_do not go outside!_

_Purge-20, transmitted through skin contact. so, do not touch the people infected!_

_there must be a digital mobile radio. i know its ID, i will call you in private frequency. my ID numbers are hidden in your watch. do not answer other IDs than my ID! this will be the only way for communication_. _in 15 minutes,_ _they will cut all the internet and electiricity._

_i have a contact with one of the scientist who worked for 'above'._   
_she knows the formula._   
_when she produce the antidote i'll try to come to you ASAP._

_i will explain every other things later,i promise._

_be careful_   
_i love you so much_


	4. Braver

* * *

_ early 2019 _

boon-nam's flight had arrived while jiahao was on his way to the airport. he'd wanted to talk with jiahao as soon as possible after being really part of the hidden plan.   
when he was outside, jiahao was waiting in his car at the curb. he got into the car. the chauffeur began to drive with jiahao's sign.

"why are you here?" jiahao asked.

"uh, i'm doing good. what about you?(!)"

"oh, sorry. i'm so busy nowadays, my brain doesn't function properly."

"that's fine. running a successful company is not easy. but you're doing good, so don't be too hard on yourself, eat and rest well."

"okay, i will. now tell me, what made you come here?"

"do you remember when i talked about the 'above' ?"

"yeah, the imaginary thing."

boon-nam had mentioned the big plan a couple years ago. he said he had wanted to participate in the plan because this would have given them so much business opportunity in a long term besides guaranteeing their lives.

although jiahao had not taken the so-called plan seriously, he'd thought it would have been dangerous to not prepare himself. the plan was dreadful. therefore, he'd built a bunker under his house like the others did, and started to stock food and save up money.

"no, buddy. this is for real now. and i'm part of it. now listen..." he took a deep breath. "they will execute the plan in late 2020. it will last 5 months. in 5 months, all people will be gone. they will give antidotes to the supporters and their family. that will make them immune. and then 'above' will clean up the mess. i've taken an oath of secrecy. with my connections, i can put your name on the list. you, too, have to take an oath of secrecy. before things get nasty i-"

"wait, boon-nam. let's talk this in my office." he interrupted.

boon-nam's father had appointed his son as the ceo of his company in bangkok, after boon-nam's graduation. boon-nam yontararak and yeh jiā háo had graduated from the same university in england. then, boon-nam helped his dear friend jiahao establish an entertainment company. eventually, he became the major shareholder of the YEH ent.

it was raining by the time they arrived at the building. they went directly to the top floor at which jiahao's office is located. the secretary welcomed mr.yeh and mr.yontararak.

the two men got into the office. it was surrounded by a window wall. they sit down and began to talk. 

"listen, boon-nam. i'm so happy that you are my friend. i really am. you are my dear friend. but i have to tell you i can't be a part of the Purge-20 bullshit. and if this is really happening, it means that we should stop them. our strength is not enough you say? then we should never get involved and protect ourselves and our family."

thunder cracked, and lightning lit the sky. "do not be one of them." he added.

"but you don't have a family. you cheated on your wife and she dumped you. i am your only family now. what else have you got to lose?"

jiahao forgot a really important thing. he'd hidden his personal life from boon-nam as best as he could, including his daughter. because even though he likes him he could never trust him. he always think that boon-nam is a dangerous person.

"it doesn't matter." he gulped.

"just to be clear, you're saying that you don't want to be a part of the plan _now_ which i've been talking about for _years_ , and that you choose to risk your life?"

"i'm saying that i won't be part of a slaughter."

after that they listened to the sound of the raindrops hitting the windows for a while. then boon-nam stood up, turning to the younger man.

"i knew it." he whispered. "i loved you, i trusted you...i helped you, for fuck's sake!" he raised his voice all of a sudden. "i always supported you. but all those years, what have you done for your friend? nothing! being a jerk is not what friends do, you bastard! and i just want one thing from you in return for all this. save your life! just put your damn name on that list and support the plan!"

"no, i'm sorry. i can't do it." he said with a soft voice.

"you are nothing but a stupid. enough! i tolerated your attitudes for years, but this time, it's over. i'll sell my all shares and wash my hands of your stupid company. and i assure you that you'll go bankrupt. suffer before you die you idiot!" he boomed.

slamming the door, he went out. jiahao knew this would happen because their friendship was getting worse in recent years.

when a major investor gets out of a company, it might make other investors worried, causing them to sell shares. it pushes the company down even further. and plus, boon-nam had connections. so, jiahao's company would probably go bankrupt.

***

_back to the outbreak day_

soojin and soyeon screamed at the same time. they were in total darkness.

"what the hell is happening minnie?" soojin squealed.

"okay calm down." minnie said.

"shuhua stay close to me, okay?" miyeon said with a weak voice.

"you're literally squeezing me. how can i-"

"shhh! just hug." she hushed the girl.

"okay listen! the generator will run in a few seconds. i asked the caretaker once, and he said our generator can run 3 weeks continuously, which we don't even need. that is, you can calm down." minnie stated.

the girls were on their seat, and minnie was standing. then the generator started to run as minnie said.

"see?" minnie smiled.

then she saw yuqi's pale face, and her smile faded. "yuqi?" she rushed to the girl.

"oh my, sweetheart, it's just a power outage." she said, hugging the girl tightly.

"i-...i saw..." yuqi stuttered. all of them was looking at yuqi.

"yes, you saw?" soyeon asked with a deep fear. she and soojin hate scary things.

"i saw something b-behind the window before the electricity was gone!" her voice trembled.

"alright, i'm out." soojin said standing up to go to her room, but when she realised she would be alone in there she sat back to her seat quietly. soyeon wrapped her arms around soojin.

"okay everyone, don't panic. and yuqi, it was probably the caretaker or an animal." minnie said, kissing the girl's forehead. "oh, and a few of the housekeepers were supposed to come in the evening, but they didn't. maybe one of them came now? i'll check it out."

"what? no!" yuqi shouted.

"come on, what are you thinking? are we in a horror film? don't be coward." shuhua shouted. "i'm coming with you." she added.

she was slightly frightened, too, but not as frightened as the other ones were.

"no! you're leaving me..." miyeon quavered.

"don't be so dramatic miyeon." shuhua replied.

"wait, there's no reception." soyeon said.

"i can't get a signal, too." soojin added after soyeon.

"what did i just see? what was that?" yuqi was mumbling on her own.

"can you guys just shut up? okay shuhua, come. apparently, you're the only brave person here."

"okay."

they headed to the outer door. when minnie was about to open the door, shuhua stopped her.

"we don't have a flashlight."

"oh you're right. there-"

"minnie, can't we just... stay inside and wait till the morning." shuhua whispered.

there was some silence before minnie answered.

"okay, you're right. we can wait. there's no rush."

***

after locking all the doors, shuhua and minnie went back to the great room. it was midnight. 

"so yeah, are you sleepy or?" minnie asked the girls.

"i'm tired but not sleepy." yuqi said.

"me, neither." miyeon said.

"we decided to sleep, if it's okay..." soyeon asked, looking at minnie.

"yeah, sure. go sleep chickens." minnie laughed.

while soyeon and soojin were on the way to the bedroom, minnie took the key out of her pocket.

"so, what was i saying? _hmm_ , oh right! i was saying... let's get this party started!"

"i'm still a little afraid." miyeon said.

"what party?" yuqi asked.

"this will make you forget about today. you'll see. let's go!"


	5. Guilt

* * *

"don't you feel hungry?" soojin asked loudly.

soyeon was brushing her teeth in the bathroom, and soojin was lying on the bed.

"oh... didn't we have dinner?" soyeon muttered, with her mouth full of foam.

soojin shook her head, "no, we didn't. but i'm not hungry at all. i've lost my appetite."

soyeon finished brushing her teeth and appeared at the door, "i thought we had dinner. i'm not hungry either."

then, she lay down on the bed. "do you think girls are aware that they haven't eaten since lunch?" she added.

***

minnie and yuqi brought some snacks with them. they all went downstairs to the cellar.

the stone walls, wood beam, plank ceilings, antique furniture and lighting all was giving the room a european ambiance. there was a back room for bulk storage, as well. the wine shelving was grouped together by wine type and vintage.

"wow, i got drunk just looking at them." shuhua said.

"you have the worst alcohol tolerance, so... i'm not surprised. " miyeon teased.

minnie was looking for that double-magnum bottles, but there was more than that. she hadn't been here before. when she's here, if she wants to drink wine, she would ask the caretaker to bring it. and since his family did not come here very often, she did not expect this much wine.

meanwhile, the other three sat on the chairs, talking about the power outage. miyeon brought his chair closer to shuhua. yuqi prepared the snacks, and minnie poured wine into the wine glasses until they're about half full. she didn't talk and sat, taking her glass. then, she swirled the wine around in the glass gently. next, she took a small sip of the wine and swished it around in her mouth. after a few seconds, she swallowed it. the girls were watching her in surprise.

"okay um... do we have to drink the way like she did?" shuhua asked.

"of course not. drink it however you want." minnie replied. "i drink like this to intensify the aroma and absorb the flavors better. it's not good to drink all at once."

"you're looking so gracious right now." yuqi said.

"hmm, what about before?"

"before?"

"nevermind."

***

soojin woke up when something hit the window. she didn't look around. they were both lying close on their sides; soojin's arms were wrapped around soyeon, and soyeon's back was resting against the soojin's stomach. then, she heard a sickening voice. something was growling outside. it scared her so much that she was like somebody poured ice water down her neck.

"wh-...s-soyeon...soyeon!" she whispered. soyeon didn't wake up. "there is something outside and it's making strange sounds. soyeon!" she was still whispering.

the thing was so close to the window. she was sleepy, so she thought it could be her imagination. to clarify that, soojin wanted to peek outside and see what's happening. the blackout curtains were covering both the two windows and the door which is opening to the porch. she stood up, trembling a little. _'is it a bear? or maybe just a dog?'_ she wondered. she headed to the window clumsily and peeked.

then, she fainted with fear because of what she saw.

***

"yuqi! don't you love me anymore? huh?!" minnie shouted to miyeon, thinking she was yuqi.

"minnie, why did you drink too much? what happened to 'not drinking all at once' thing?" miyeon hissed. they were outside the cellar, on the stairs, and miyeon was trying to get minnie to the restroom. minnie fell and leaned against the wall. miyeon leaned over to help her stand up. just then, minnie held the girl's neck.

"my sweetie..." she kissed the girl.

at first miyeon's entire body froze for a second. but then, she pushed her hard. after staring blankly a little, "you'd better not remember this tomorrow or else i'll punch you in the face." she said.

meanwhile, in the cellar, shuhua was also sitting on the floor, leaning against the wine shelf. yuqi was tipsy, but still, she tried to help shuhua.

"shu, are okay?

shuhua raised her head. "i feel so dizzy."

yuqi sat next to shuhua and leaned against the shelf. "i guess we screwed up." she said. they were talking in chinese.

shuhua leaned her head on yuqi's shoulder.

"yuqi, aren't we studying psychology?

"yes, we are."

 _'then, tell me why i still can't understand you.'_ she thought. "then, why can't i still understand people and myself?"

"what do you mean? what people?"

 _'you'_   
"some people. i hate them. and i hate myself because of them."

"you hate them because you don't understand them, and that makes you hate yourself?" yuqi asked.

"i'm really trying hard." she started to struggle with hiccups.

"shuhua, you're talking nonsense."

"yuqi," she got up and sat on yuqi's lap "i'm carrying this guilt on my shoulders from the very beginning."

"shuhua! what are you-"

shuhua put her finger on yuqi's lips. yuqi got flustered. but then, miyeon came back to the cellar all of a sudden. when yuqi heard her coming, she threw shuhua away and stood up immediately. shuhua sat back on the floor.

"yuqi? i need your help. shu? where are you?" miyeon called them.

"we're here!"

miyeon came and saw them blushing.

"what happened? are you okay?"

just then, shuhua threw up on yuqi's slippers.

***

the next morning was the first morning of the outbreak. people were getting infected rapidly, and the infected people were behaving like zombies as in the movies.

"what the hell! soojin?!" soyeon shouted as soon as she saw soojin lying on the floor. she rushed to the girl.

"soojin! are you okay?"

soojin opened her eyes. "hmm? y-yes. i'm good."

"oh thank god! i thought you were hurt." she took a breath. "why did you sleep here?"

"uh, i don't know."

"okay, okay. get up and wash your face. we'll talk about this later. it's already noon, and i'm starving."

they both took a quick shower and went to the kitchen, after. the breakfast was ready.

"oh, morning! i was just coming to your room." miyeon said. she had prepared the breakfast.

"morning." soojin said so quietly.

"morning, i guess." soyeon said.

minnie was taking pills for her headache and shuhua asked for one, too.

"my head hurts like hell. and i remember nothing. i'm so sorry for miyeon and yuqi. they had to take care of two fools." shuhua said.

"it's okay baby. we're good, right? " miyeon asked, looking at yuqi who just came.

"yeah, we're good." she couldn't look at shuhua's face and took a carton of milk out of the fridge.

"also, drinking with an empty stomach is not good, for sure. let's be more careful next time." miyeon added.

"yeah, you're right. and i don't remember anything either. so let's not talk about yesterday, as well." minnie said in a suspicious way. "oh and, there's still no reception and electricity."

"what? why are these things happening to us while we're on vacation?" soyeon grumled.

"i don't know, and i wonder why the housekeepers hasn't come yet." minnie added.

after having breakfast in an awkward silence, shuhua and minnie were chosen to deal with the dishes.

"so you really don't remember anything huh?" minnie asked the younger quietly.

shuhua nodded. "why? do you remember something?"

"no, i don't!"

in fact, they both knew what they had done last night and were drowning in shame.

while the two ashamed girls were placing the dishes, the others were talking about the soojin issue in the great room.

"i had a nightmare. it's blurry in my mind, so i can't remember the whole thing." soojin said. "anyway, i want some fresh air. soyeon, would you like to come with me?"

"yes, why not?"

***

when an hour passed, the girls were playing some kind of word game.

"argh! i'm not good at this kind of games." shuhua whined after failing.

"pft..." yuqi held back her laughter.

"is it funny?" shuhua asked.

"maybe."

there was a strange feeling between them, just as between minnie and miyeon. the others continued to play. shuhua took her phone to distract herself. then she saw the message notification again. she opened it. her heart was in her throat when she finished reading the message. she couldn't believe what she read, but on the other hand, she knew that her dad had never joked in his entire life.

"this...this can't be true, it shouldn't be true!"

"what is happening, shuhua?" miyeon asked.

and then, they heard a scream.

"fuck! soojin and soyeon!" shuhua shouted.


	6. People

* * *

"is there a gun in the house?"

shuhua asked. minnie said _'yes'_ and rushed to the master bedroom without thinking anything. then, she came back with a pistol, shotgun and pepper spray. shuhua's father had taught her how to use gun when she was young.

"we should go now!" shuhua shouted, leaving the room. but she stopped a while. "love, you and yuqi should stay inside. do not open the doors until we come."

"shuhua, what is happening?" miyeon asked.

"there's no time."

they went outside in a rush. even though the sun was low in the sky, the weather was very hot. they felt like they were melting. minnie was holding the spray tightly while looking around. they were shouting the girls' name and running at the same time. minnie looked at the pistol shuhua was holding.

"do you really have to use that?"

"minnie, i think things are worse than we think."

_'it is coming, run soojin! run!'_

they heard soyeon's voice. shuhua saw her running away on the tree line driveway.

"soyeon!" minnie and shuhua shouted.

soojin was also running, a couple steps behind the girl. they were screaming out loud.

"no! don't come! run!" soyeon shouted at the girls, waving her arms.

but they didn't understand what she said. they kept walking towards them. and then, something behind soojin jumped on the road. it was a human, but with very pale skin and red eyes, and was moving like a wild animal, like a zombie.

"what the heck!" minnie stopped walking when she saw it.

soojin and soyeon came near the girls. shuhua slowed down her steps, and took aim at the zombie.

"wait shuhua!" minnie shouted.

he was already very close, so, shuhua shot him. he collapsed as he bled. shuhua lowered the gun slowly. soojin and soyeon was panting. soyeon sat on the floor, covering her head with her arms. they were scared to death and confused. minnie approached the zombie. when she saw his face, she took a step back and started gagging. then, she leaned over and threw up. it was the caretaker. shuhua stared blankly for a few seconds while minnie was trying to gather herself.

"shuhua?" soojin called her.

at that moment, while they were trying to calm down, some sounds rose through the bushes. then two of those who used to be the housekeepers appeared. they were just like the caretaker; red eyes and pale skin. at first they were so calm, but just when soojin gasped and started to run, they growled and started chasing her. the weird thing is, they didn't even look at the other girls, who were staying still for a moment without being able to feel anything. shuhua ran after soojin.

"soojin!" soyeon shouted with fear.

this made one of the zombies turn to herself. soyeon stood up and was about to run when the zombie jumped over her all of a sudden. minnie quickly rushed and kicked the zombie away. she reached out her hand and helped soyeon get up. then, the zombie stood up. having aimed at the eyes, minnie doused the zombie with the pepper spray. the so-called zombie felt the pain in her eyes. it was a good time to escape.

"let's go!" minnie said, holding tight the younger's arm.

***

"you, too, heard the gunshot, right?" yuqi asked, walking around in the room anxiously.

"yes, i heard. i'm so scared yuqi."

"i hope everyone is okay."

"should we check out them?"

"i don't know. shuhua told us to not go outside."

"but... what if they're in danger?"

then they heard someone knocking the outer door. they looked each other.

soojin shouted, "yuqi! open the door, quick! miyeon!"

yuqi rushed to the outer door and opened it at once. soojin threw herself inside. after her, the zombie chasing soojin jumped over yuqi. they both fell on the ground, the zombie was on yuqi. she cried out very loud. miyeon was frozen and covering her mouth with fear. it was like the zombie was trying to get rid of something inside yuqi's head, instead of trying to eat her brain. her saliva dropped on yuqi's face. then someone kicked the zombie away and shot her in the head. the zombie's head blew up, spreading blood everywhere. yuqi and miyeon stared at the mess, with their mouth wide open. shuhua came after. first, she looked at yuqi who was lying on the floor, then she looked at soojin who was holding the shotgun in her hand. the gun fell from her hand onto the floor. her lips were trembling. she got weak in the knees and fell over.

at that exact moment, minnie and soyeon came. they were shocked by the view.

"yuqi!"

"soojin!"

both shouted in unison, rushing towards the girls. 

***

"should we check the doors again?" shuhua asked minnie.

"there's no need for that. we already checked twice."

"what about windows?"

"all locked."

"baby, come sit. you should relax." miyeon said.

shuhua sat next to her. minnie and yuqi was hugging each other. soojin was sleeping on the sofa, and her head was on soyeon's lap.

"is she sleeping?" minnie mouthed without making a sound.

soyeon nodded.

yuqi raised her head from minnie's chest. "shuhua, are you gonna tell us what's going on?" she asked.

"oh, right..." she took her phone, "here's a message from my father." she said, starting to read it out loud.

when she finished reading, yuqi jumped up.

"are you saying that the disease is transmitted by skin contact? that creature's saliva dropped right on my face, shuhua! and we all cleaned its infected blood! if this is true, we're all dead!" she shouted.

"yuqi! it's not her fault. why are you shouting at her?" miyeon shouted back, getting up and standing against yuqi. soojin woke up because of the noise.

"how come? her father knows something, he's involved in this!"

yuqi was angry not only for the disease issue but also for the complex emotions that shuhua made her feel.

"yuqi, if her father got involved in this, and if his words are true, that means minnie's father got involved in, too. so, keep your voice down!"

"or else what?"

miyeon took a step forward.

"you wanna hit me now? okay, do it if you can!" yuqi roared.

"alright, if you say so..."

she slapped yuqi in the face, but it wasn't so harsh. minnie got up quickly and pulled yuqi behind her.

"hey, what was that? stop it!"

"she did want."

"okay, miyeon, i get it. we're all nervous now. but it's not worth fighting with each other!"

"why are you saying this to me? your girlfriend started everything. tell her to calm down."

"enough!" shuhua finally spoke. "listen! firstly, based on my father's words, there's a cure. so there's a hope. and secondly, i'm sure that the disease is transmitted through by getting into our body, not by just skin touch. if you didn't touch your nose, eyes or mouth, then there's still hope. so, if you don't want to become a zombie, instead of picking a fight, go take a bath!" she raised her voice.

shuhua was telling that to everyone, but her gaze fixed on yuqi. they looked directly into each other's eyes. yuqi sat back to her seat with minnie. miyeon did the same. the things they had been through was confusing the girls' feelings and minds gradually.

there was silence for a while, but the thoughts were so loud in their head. soojin wanted to go home and practise, her major was dance. she was discovering her alter egos by dancing. soyeon thought of her songs. writing and producing songs would be so nice at that moment. her major was music. yuqi and shuhua was studying psychology, but both of them was not happy with it. yuqi came from beijing to korea for study psychology after her parents forced her. but she always wanted to produce songs to express her feelings through music. and shuhua always wanted to be an actress to become an another person under the name of acting. she wanted to get away from herself once in a while. minnie was studying business administration because she wanted to take her father's seat. she was determined to prove her father and family that women could run a company. and miyeon, she didn't go to college because she was working for a magazine. she was successful, and the income she get was really good. but if she could study at college, her major would definitely be a major in art.

minnie broke the silence all of a sudden. "wait..." she turned to shuhua, "your father talked about an underground bunker in his message, right?"

"yes."

"how does he know? even i don't know about it. they must be an old friend or something."

"i don't have any clue about that."

"if there is a secret bunker, it proves that our fathers know each other."

"and even if there is not, it still doesn't change the fact that my father got involved in this mess without telling us about it."

the girls settled down eventually, and went to their rooms to take a bath.

after having a bath, soojin was the first one who came to the great room. shuhua came after her. they sat quietly for a few minutes before soojin light the fire.

"how can you be so calm even though you killed someone today?"

shuhua was not surprised by the question. this question had come to her mind while she was taking a bath. therefore, it was not surprising that soojin asked it.

"i don't know. i don't feel like i killed someone. i just did what i had to do. like you did."

"no, shuhua. we killed people."

"jin-ah, have you tried to grasp the situation we are in? if i hadn't shot it, it would have hurt one of us. if you hadn't shot it, it would have killed yuqi. they are not people."

then yuqi came in a hurry.

"shuhua! above you said, above!"

"what?"

"i think there's really a bunker in this house."


	7. Love or Hate

* * *

disinfection area of the bunker (representative):

one of the bedrooms of the bunker (representative):

© these pics are not mine all credits goes to the owners

"it's there." yuqi said, "okay, i'm on it."

yuqi, soojin and shuhua were in the library, and yuqi was climbing up the ladder. she touched the 'above' book, but it didn't move. then, she pulled it with all her might. it clattered, and a sound heard from the ground. a cover of a hidden square door on the floor opened a little. shuhua opened it completely with the help of soojin. there was a narrow tunnel with a fixed ladder.

"okay i'm not going in there." soojin said, "i've had enough today."

shuhua looked at the girls, "i'll go. but i need a flashlight."

"here!" minnie came to the room with a flashlight, "i'll be right behind you."

"i'm coming too." yuqi said.

shuhua took the flashlight and went 15 meters down the ladder. minnie called her before following.

"tell me what you see, shu."

"an escape tunnel, i guess." her voice was muffled through the walls.

"okay, i'm coming."

they all went down except for soojin. she was still trying to recover herself, but, she couldn't stop thinking about what she did to that thing. she decided to go back and sleep as long as she can.

***

"this place, how can i say... formidable?" yuqi asked the girls, walking after them.

"there's a sign on the wall of every entrance. so, apparently, this one is disinfection entrance area." shuhua said.

minnie's mind was so empty at that moment. her anger towards her father was increasing deeply. this place was something else, and her father had never talked about it. she always thought her father was a lousy man, but she hadn't expected this much. he was involved in a blood bath.

after checking some rooms, they found the living room. and in the corner, there was the radio jiahao had talked about. shuhua remembered the wristwatch thing.

"oh, i forgot!"

yuqi and minnie walked around the room while shuhua was trying to break her watch with the flashlight. minnie said she would check if there were more rooms, leaving the girls alone. yuqi sneaked up behind shuhua. she was still trying to break it.

"it's not necessary now." she said suddenly, causing shuhua jump a little. "oh, sorry for the jumpscare."

shuhua didn't want to talk much, "it's okay."

"anyway, what i mean is that even if you can get ID, you can't use it. you don't know how to make a radio call."

"we can get a call any minute, we need to learn the ID."

"even so, you don't have to break it. there must be a way to open it."

"but, even so, i want to smash it."

and she did. she shattered the watch. then, she burst into tears, as she knelt down with her shattered watch in her hands. she was so disappointed, tired, scared and confused. she tried to love her father, she tried to think that her father was a good man, even she stood by him whenever he was in trouble. when her mother cheated on him, he said that they would tell everyone he was the one who cheated. he wanted this because he didn't want her mother to get hurt by his relatives. he was this good, but on the other hand, he could beat her own daughter savagely just because she said she likes girls. she didn't want people to know about him, nevertheless, she really tried to love him.

"are all fathers are bad?" shuhua asked, sobbing.

"no."

"are all loves are weak?"

yuqi knelt down and hugged the girl tight. shuhua leaned over her chest. yuqi's warmth was now embracing her, but when she said "not yours.", it gave shuhua chills.

"what do you mean?"

***

_ shuhua flashback - the day they all met _

"so this is yuqi, my girlfriend. we just met, like, two weeks ago. but i love her. she's my sweetie."

"okay, babe. they don't have to know all this. don't bother them."

_yuqi, yuqi... i swear i know this name, and her face is really familiar. i've met her for a while now, and i still couldn't remember how i know her._

"right, shuhua?" yuqi asked, drawing my attention.

"oh, uh yes. you're right."

minnie laughed at me. then, i looked at miyeon who was slightly smiling. i didn't get what they meant.

"i said butterflies want to be strong, and giraffes want to be short."

_wait, i heard this before. it's... it's her! i remembered! it's her! what to do? what to do? didn't she recognize me?_

"shuhua? are you okay? sorry if i upset you. i don't mean it."

 _i'm nervous, i'm so nervous_. i couldn't looked at her when i remembered she was my first love. my parents had thought that studying abroad would be a good opportunity, so, they'd wanted me to attend in a high school in england. but i didn't want to be that far away. i told them to sent me to beijing. in my first year, i met yuqi, and i thought we fell in love with each other. i told my father i loved yuqi, but after hearing that my father had beaten me up, yuqi put a distance between us. she didn't talk with me for a couple of week. then she got transferred to another school. i decided to forget my memories with her, and i did, till now.

"no, it's okay. i don't mind it."

"now that everyone finally met everyone, and everyone is here, we should celebrate it." soyeon said, getting up.

"what kind of sentence is-"

"yes, i agree!" minnie interrupted soojin, loudly.

"i guess, you just want to celebrate everything." soojin added.

"okay, i'm in. what's the plan?" miyeon asked.

"love? i didn't say i'll join them?"

"but, why? it would be fun." she pouted her face.

"how about karaoke?" yuqi suggested.

_she doesn't remember._

***

_back to the day_

minnie came to the room, seeing them hugging each other.

"did something happen?" she asked.

yuqi stood up as soon as she heard her lover's voice. shuhua stood up, too, wiping her tears.

"nothing important, just a little emotional breakdown, that's it."

"i'm sorry."

"it's okay, don't be."

"okay. well, there's an armory. a lot of things were there, don't ask. so, what about you? did you try to make a call?"

just then, soyeon came in.

"i can modulate it." she said. "soojin said the bunker is real, so i came to check with my bare eyes."

after a half and hour or later, they managed to call the ID that jiahao gave them, in private frequency. soyeon was holding the microphone.

"shuhua? shuhua are you okay?"

his soft voice made shuhua cry again. she shut her mouth and walked away from them. minnie caught her and hugged.

"y-yes sir, she's okay. she's just... sleeping right now. i'm her friend, soyeon."

"uh, i see. could you please tell her i love her. i should've said this a million times before. i want her to know before i die, i love her so much."

"you won't die, sir. don't say such things. you will see your daughter again." yuqi said, leaning over the microphone.

"okay, listen," his sobbings could be heard, "i talked with the scientist woman. she said those zombies are not really zombies. they are just sick people. and you know i said there is a cure, which only 'above' and their supporters have? that antidote is given through steam inhalation. those who inhales the antidote fall asleep at first. and when they wake up, they will be healed. so we can make the antidote and use my helicopter to spread it. i know it sounds impossible. but it's better than nothing.

the other thing is that the infected people's breath cause some kind of air pollution which makes the healthy people stressed and tired. though, they get immune to that tiredness after a while. also, it makes air temperature increase.

and finally, she said the disease is transmitted when those infectious droplets get into your mouth, nose or eyes. it's not about skin contact. and that infectious droplets are only can live on a living thing."

soyeon and yuqi was looking at each other. shuhua left minnie's arms and headed towards them. she took the microphone.

"are you a part of this plan and that 'above' thing? tell me why should i trust you!" she shouted.

"if i was one of them, you would be picked up by a helicopter."

"oh, you say so? then, why minnie's father didn't pick her daughter?"

"boon-nam... he... he died."

they all looked at minnie immediately. her face was frozen.


	8. Mistakes

* * *

_present day_

in an abandoned supermarket, an assault rifle in minnie's hands and a pdw in miyeon's lap, they were leaning against the shelf, sitting quietly. their supplies are still enough, but minnie wanted to go outside to see if there were people in need. and they stopped by that market. miyeon took a look at the expiration date of the juice she held. it was expired, but she shrugged off and drank it.

minnie's facial expression changed. "ew!"

"you're blowing up brains for two months now and still thinking that drinking juice is ew?"

"not the point. don't be dramatic, you know we don't kill them."

"remember the other day?"

"it was an accident."

"yeah, you accidently blew his head off, okay."

"yah! i was afraid okay? don't keep mentioning that accident!" minnie shouted suddenly.

that loud scream made miyeon scared a little. and when they feel scared, their adrenaline are increased, which cause the zombies rush over them.

"minnie, you silly, do you want to get us killed?" she whispered loudly.

"shh, there's two." minnie hushed the girl.

the two zombies came in the supermarket. minnie got up slowly, keeping her head below. she was prepared to fire at any moment. miyeon did the same. one of the zombies headed the corridor on their left side. minnie did a sign with her hand that means _'let's go there'._

they started to walk as quietly as possible. miyeon was behind minnie.

"minnie, we should leave through the side fire door." she whispered.

minnie nodded. they managed to get to the fire exit. just then miyeon looked over her shoulder to see where it is, and both were right behind them, looking at them. they rushed over the girls as miyeon screamed and aimed at one of the zombies.

"wait!"

minnie jumped before miyeon and shot at their side with her rifle. the loud sound make them squel and run away. miyeon held the girl's hand at once and dragged her outside. they went to the parking lot in a hurry. miyeon looked around but couldn't see her range rover.

"where's it?" minnie asked in haste.

"i don't know. it was here."

the range rover was in reverse, going backwards on its own on the sloping ground. minnie saw it.

"did you forget to set the handbrake?! look!"

miyeon looked in the direction minnie was pointing.

"oh, sh-"

"go, go, go!!! they are behind us! "

they began to run towards the car. now there were four zombies chasing them. minnie ran faster to be able to reach as fast as they can. she was beside the car as she grabbed the door handle of the car. she opened it, jumped in and pulled the handbrake up. it stopped. but miyeon was too slow. when she got out and looked at her, she was on the ground with four zombies on her.

"miyeon!"

she rushed over and fired at them, crying out loud. three of them fell over. however, she couldn't shoot the zombie on the girl for fear of shooting her too. and then, miyeon fired her gun. minnie grabbed the zombie covered in blood and threw it back.

"miyeon! are you okay?"

"yes i'm okay. we should head back and get washed." she said, standing up.

"are you sure you're okay?"

minnie was worried because miyeon shot someone. a few minutes ago, she was whining to minnie for killing someone. but now it was her who shot someone.

"let's go!" miyeon replied, going towards the car.

when the sun sank, they arrived the home. after parking the car they went to the house.

"i'll take a bath here. you can go ahead." minnie said, locking the door.

they were standing at the foyer.

"why do you not take a bath in the bunker? it constantly sterilizes itself."

"i know. but i don't feel like seeing yuqi."

"you're still not good huh?"

"yeah, i guess. she got really angry, when i talked about the quarrel between me and my father."

"it was a long ago. but she learned it now."

"i know. but miyeon, i lost my father. i'm still mad and upset. i miss my mother and brothers. we don't know what our families do. we don't know how they are. the last time i saw my father, we were shouting at each other with rage. and now, he's gone, you know. my mind was so busy and is still busy. but i decided to tell her, now. i don't know why." she shed tears.

"it's okay minnie. i feel you." she hugged the girl, "but, can i ask something?"

"yeah?"

"what was the quarrel about? you said a girlfriend issue, but i don't think so."

minnie leaned back against the wall, leaving miyeon's arms.

"it was about yuqi being a producer, with the support of my father. he once had heard me playing a song that yuqi wrote and composed. i'd helped her to compose it with my piano. he loved the song, and told me that he wanted to support her. but i refused. and he said that it was not my decision to make. maybe he was right, but i shouted at him. something like that."

"oh, i see. it sucks."

then, minnie went to her room while miyeon was going down to the underground. she passed through the disinfection area. in the bunker, there were seperate six bedrooms. each of them took one, but they were not sleeping alone. minnie was with yuqi, miyeon was with shuhua, and soojin was with soyeon. miyeon went to shuhua's room, after washing up. she didn't knock the door, and opened it suddenly. shuhua got up, covering her naked body with the sheet.

"m-miyeon! i-i can explain." she stuttered, "get up yuqi! get up!" she shouted at yuqi who was lying on her bed half-naked.

"what, the, fuck!" miyeon was filling with rage.

yuqi got up, saying sorry over and over. her underwear was on. but shuhua was completely naked. shuhua couldn't find a way to deny the situation.

"i'm sorry miyeon." shuhua said.

"yuqi, leave us alone." miyeon ordered.

yuqi put on her t-shirt and packed the other things. she looked at shuhua quick, then she left the room.

miyeon sat on the bed calmly. her back was to shuhua. she took a really deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"what have you done?" she asked.

"miyeon."

"don't say my name. just say what you did. i want you to be honest."

shuhua was looking at her fingers and playing with them nervously.

"we did."

"you did what?"

"we slept together."

miyeon paused a little, "do you love her?"

"miyeon, pl-"

"i asked a question, shu."

she turned around to face shuhua. "do you love her?" she repeated.

"i-... yes."

miyeon was about to cry. she felt like something got stuck in her throat.

"then, why did you date with me?"

"i love you, miyeon. you're like my second family. you're my home where i came to whenever i want to feel serenity. "

"it's not love, shuhua. you used me and played with my feelings. i didn't know that you were a such low person."

miyeon got up, heading the door. shuhua went right behind her and held her arm. miyeon turned back and slapped her hard.

"don't touch me." she roared and left.

shuhua couldn't move. she put on her clothes, but then, she just sat there and didn't move. after an hour, shuhua was still in her room. there's nobody to comfort her. yuqi didn't came as well. she thought about the past when yuqi ran away from her. _'would she ignore me again? what will happen now?'_ she thought.

then, yuqi came. yuqi didn't look into her eyes. she sat on the edge of the bed. a sweet smell was pouring out of her hair.

"shuhua, i think we should..."

"yuqi, look at my face."

yuqi raised her head nervously. shuhua held her hand.

"do you love me yuqi?" she asked.

yuqi didn't answer. shuhua waited a little to hear her answer. she really wanted that answer. but yuqi didn't say a thing. then, shuhua stood up.

"can you please get out of my room?"

"shuhua i-"

"get out!" shuhua shouted.

yuqi left the room quickly. then shuhua took her pistol and headed to the tunnel to go up and leave the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> final chapter will be consist of three part  
> i'll update it after (g)i-dle comeback
> 
> i added the link of the final chapter teaser i made:
> 
> <https://bit.ly/3gvVPI8>
> 
> thx by


	9. FINAL CHAPTER - Part 1: pure insanity

* * *

_an hour ago_

miyeon walked out of the room, passing the hall that connects to bedrooms on both sides. she was furious and blaming both shuhua and herself for all that's happened. she always clearly felt the strange chemistry between the two and saw that turn coming yet did not do anything. she just didn't want to accept the idea of not being loved. now this fact slapped her in the face just like she slapped shuhua. and today, she killed someone. miyeon wanted all of this to be a dream, but she knew it wasn't. she felt her warm tears on her cheeks. then, she went to the kitchen and saw soyeon and soojin eating there.

"miyeon? is everything okay?" soyeon asked.

"obviously not!" soojin said as she rose.

"i'm fine, there's something in my eye, that's all."

miyeon joined them and didn't talk all through the dinner.

_present_

soyeon broke the silence, "miyeon, i think i should tell you something about this morning."

"i think we should wash the dishes." soojin intervened.

"what? what happened?" asked miyeon.

"soyeon, she just slipped up. you're just overthinking."

"how come she confused taiwan with korea? these words don't even start with a same letter."

"taiwan? korea? what are you talking about?"

"this noon, after you went out, we got bored and wanted to play some game to cheer ourself up. so we decided to play truth or dare, and i kissed soojin on the lips and-"

"shut up! this isn't about us."

"go ahead." miyeon insisted.

"okay, so, when shuhua chose the truth, i asked her if she had a secret she kept from us. everybody has secrets, you know."

"no, not everybody."

"soojin can you stop interrupting, please?" said miyeon.

soyeon continued, "she thought for a while and then said she always felt bad about her father living in korea."

"what?!"

"exactly! i asked the same question. but she said she meant taiwan."

soojin rolled her eyes, "come on, it was just a slip of the tongue."

"so her secret is just being sad about something? i don't think so."

"i think soyeon is right. and i think shuhua hid not only that but all her fucking life from us." after saying that, miyeon left them without a word.

"what was that?" soojin frowned.

"i don't know."

***

gun in hand, thoughts in mind, shuhua slowly walked along the tree lined driveway. _'it's all my fault, it shouldn't have been like that. i don't know what to do now._ _'_

how could she be so stupid, she did not understand. she had made a mistake by keeping this secret from the very beginning and deeply injured everyone, including herself. as if this cruel massacre outside was not enough, she also caused a massacre inside. she started to cry, got angry because of crying. then she heard crackling sounds. fear filled her. and she got even more angry because she was scared. 

"please, god," she suddenly started running, shouting with rage,"it's enough!"

her gun dropped to the ground as she was running. she stopped for a moment and wanted to take it, but something prevented her. a voice inside her was telling her to not take the gun. she turned and continued running. her anger, sadness, excitement, regret, they were all mixed together now. she was out of balance as she was out of breath, then she staggered and fell on her knees. she did not rise from where she fell while the tears continued to fall.

she scraped her knee and was bleeding. she touched the wound with her hand to wipe off the blood. the moment she touched it, she got a sudden pain that made her shout. she looked at her hands and saw her fingers covered in dirt. this was not a good sign, because the virus could be everywhere outside, and she touched her bleeding wound. as the heat in her heart started to fade, she realized that it was foolish to go out alone. she sat there until her pounding heart calmed down and her breathing returned to normal. soon she became dizzy. 

she took a deep breath, "okay i have to put an end to this stupidity and go home."

then she heard the crackling sounds she had just heard before, but this time a child voice rose too. the child seemed to be trying to say something in the girl's mother tongue.

"save me! please mom, this water is so cold, i'm drowning, please mom ... mom!"

then the child's voice changed to a somewhat mature one. shuhua looked around but couldn't see anyone.

"just as you did not take me out of the water, you also drowned your family. you were the one i was not afraid of, but now i am afraid of you too."

the voice gradually matured and began to resemble shuhua's voice.

"i still love you mother. i've always loved those who don't love me, like you and yuqi. and because i was not loved properly, i couldn't love those who love me, like my father and miyeon. now i'm drowning everyone in that water. how ironic!" the voice became hoarse.

shuhua lay on the ground, looking up at the sky. the first drops of summer rains started to fall on her face and mingle with tears in the moonlight. the voice came back and shouted loudly, "like mother, like daughter!"

the blood in her knee did not stop, her fever started to rise and she was very short of breath. she spread her arms out to side and tried to watch the drops falling from the sky. she could not think of anything. then she saw a silhouette approaching.

"yuqi?" she mumbled.

***

miyeon grabbed an oil lamp and got out of the bunker. the bunker had been powering by an underground power generator. but in the house, there was no power. the generator of the house had run out of fuel, and because they were living in the bunker, they had not stockpiled fuel to keep that generator running.

for some reason, she wanted to see minnie, feeling like minnie could soothe her. when she arrived there, she saw minnie lying still like a dead on the bed. _'is she breathing?'_ she thought for a moment. minnie smiled as if she was swimming in the imaginary pool filled with euphoric and relaxed feelings, but she didn't move. miyeon saw the smoke around, then the weed.

"what is it? cigarette?" miyeon questioned.

" _is wheed_ "

"oh," miyeon said, approaching the bed, "...well, i guess both of us are not in a good mood." she said as she sat on the bed beside her, "can i have some?"

minnie sat up and looked at her, "sure but are you crying or am i seeing things?"

"nope, i'm not. you're seeing things."

minnie said " _oay_ " while leaning against the headboard, "have you ever smoked?"

"no, but i want to taste it."

they started to smoke together. miyeon got high in minutes, and minnie was way too stoned at that moment. they lay on the bed, gazing blankly at the ceiling.

"you hear that?" minnie asked, handing the weed.

"huh?" miyeon took it.

"listen!"

minnie turned on her side to face miyeon, and miyeon did the same. they hadn't lost touch with reality yet but the effect of the weed distorted their sense of time. they were seeing each other in a kind of dreamy way. minnie put her hand on miyeon's chest.

"i hear your heartbeats."

"minnie, we're stupid." said miyeon. she smoked a little, coughed and handed it back to minnie.

"do you think so?"

then, miyeon noticed a tape recorder on the pillow. she reached out and took it, "what is this?"

minnie shrugged her shoulders and didn't answer. she lay on the bed back, closing her eyes. miyeon pushed the button and the recording started to play.

 _'... hi!... 1, 2, 3... is it recording?... okay so... yuqi, i want to tell you something. i know i always tried to keep the power and control in my hands._ _i made decisions on behalf of you, and so on._ _but that's because i was afraid that you would go. after all, it just put pressure on you and made you move further away. i hurt you, i'm sorry... but i'm not a stupid, you know... i can see that you don't love me. you just love me as a friend... it's okay..._ _to be honest, i am not sure either... that i really love you... yeah...the weirder this story got, the more i realized that_ _our love was nothing but a habit_ _._ _i guess i just don't like losing control. ah, what am i even saying?... i'm tired.'_

miyeon thought it finished. but it went on playing. she continued to listen.

_'oh and, there's one more thing i figured out. for the last two months, miyeon has been making my life more bearable. thank you miyeon... so how do i delete this record?'_

the recording ended with a click sound. minnie was still lying on her back, eyes closed, with the weed between her fingers. miyeon put the tape recorder on the nightstand.

"pretty interesting." miyeon said.

"why do you think we're stupid?"

"yuqi cheated on you," she smiled awkwardly, "...with my girlfriend _._ "

"cool," minnie giggled, "i was expecting this."

"what?"

she breathed in the smoke and kept drawing it deep into her lungs until she couldn't anymore. she held it for a few seconds and slowly exhaled it back out, "don't pretend you didn't know! butterflies were everywhere around them."

"butterflies..."

minnie opened her eyes and put the weed in the ashtray on between them, "don't you think we also have them around us?"

"i-"

"listen! i hear something again." minnie said, making shush gesture.

"what is it now?"

she put her hand on miyeon's neck, "i hear the sound of the kiss i gave you like this."

"you, you remember?"

"yes, and it was more real than anyhing i know."

under the soft lights of the oil lamps, minnie's features and the words spilling from her mouth fascinated miyeon. her pulse quickened, but she tried to keep her composure because this was wrong for her even though she liked having intimate moment, "this is ridicilious. are you not upset at all?"

minnie heaved a sigh, "here, smoke the way i smoke." she said, taking the weed and handed it to her.

when they finished smoking, the logic was gone. both lost their inhibitions.

"i feel like i'm a feather." said miyeon.

minnie sat up cross-legged, throwing the ashtray away, "sit on my lap, i'll tell you if you are."

she did what she's told and sat on minnie's lap, wrapping her legs and arms around the younger.

"okay, you're definitely not a feather."

miyeon burst into laughter. when she stopped laughing, she looked intimately at minnie's lips, "can i taste more?" she asked.

as minnie nodded, miyeon leaned and kissed her nice and slowly. it was as if they had found a real passion, the passion they longed for, on each other's lips. while kissing, minnie put her hands under the girl's t-shirt, touching her smooth back.


	10. FINAL CHAPTER - Part 2: the far side of the moon

* * *

not long after, a door knocking with soyeon's voice awakened miyeon. she opened her eyes.

"..."

she couldn't hear what the voice said because her brain was buzzing. she got up and managed to stagger to the door, after taking a breath, opened it.

"minnie, mr.yeh-" soyeon stopped with a shocked face, "...oh miyeon, hi, um... are you aware that... you're naked?"

miyeon looked down and saw her whole body exposed. she abruptly looked back at soyeon, whose eyes were wide open. then she slammed the door in her face.

"nice body, though." soyeon shouted behind the door.

miyeon insulted herself and looked for her clothes. a lot had happened in the last half an hour, and she started to remember, _'shit, shit, shit. what did i do?!'_

soyeon went back to the living room in deep thoughts. she wondered why she missed everything in despite of living in the same house. she shook her head. _'i should focus on the important things now.'_ they had received a pre-recorded call from jiahao about the antidote; he said the scientist managed to make a steam treatment, using the formulas. so they started the healing plan. he spread the steam there with his own helicopter. they had yet to know if it worked or not, but,he said they need to spread it over as many areas as possible, one way or another. now he was coming with his private jet here.

_'when i land, someone has to come and drive me there. it will take about 11 hours for me to arrive england. '_

this was the last sentence of his call. and soyeon saw the call so late. there were only 2 hours left. _'this is bullshit. but we got nothing else to do.'_ she thought.

"so? did you talk to her?" soojin asked.

"she's kinda busy. where is yuqi and shuhua? did you see them?"

"hmm, no i haven't seen them since this afternoon."

" _argh!_ why are we so separated? i should drive to the airfield, but i have never used that violence machines."

"you mean, guns?"

"yeah," she hesitated a little before continuing, "...and now you are in charge of them."

"what? no! i haven't touched them since that day, and you know it."

"we may get in a must-do situation, soojin, and you know how to use them. i don't know anything about guns. please babe, we're talking about our safety."

"i don't know anything about guns either. i just went to the shooting range a few times, that's all. and, since when did you start calling me babe?"

"since you became my girlfriend."

"we're not girlfriends."

"but, we did everything except for being _girlfriends_."

"i don't care."

"okay, whatever. shall we focus on our problem now? we should go!"

soojin sighed, "fine!"

***

the virus lives on a living thing, such as humans, animals, plants. there was a possibility that shuhua had touched any of those trees while walking the driveway. she was looking at the silhouette in front of her, overwhelmed with the thought of being infected with the virus. the silhouette was not yuqi, even though she wanted it to be her so much. with bloodshot eyes and pale face, it was one of those infected creatures.

the infected people somehow get sensitive to adrenaline, and like a dog, they can sense it. so if you feel the fear, if your body secrete that hormone, they will attack you. shuhua was ready for anything, so she wasn't afraid. and it did not attack her. it was the first time that shuhua had seen one so closely. the zombie came and looked at the girl. it was she, a very beautiful woman actually and was looking blankly as if her head was emptied.

"i wonder where you were and what you were doing when you got the virus. maybe you had a child, maybe a loved one." shuhua mumbled.

a single teardrop fell from the zombie woman's eye when she heard the word "child". it was surprising. at that moment, shuhua truly accepted that what she always looked at with hate and what she called _things_ were in fact human beings. they just couldn't be able to control their mind and body.

shuhua was getting muddled. _'to tell the truth, we were already the same before this apocalypse. we were already the living dead. what difference do we have with yesterday?'_ shuhua questioned herself as her vision blurred.

the zombie woman got up and was about to go away when yuqi's cry was heard, "shuhua!"

she was holding shuhua's gun in her hand, terrified. the zombie woman started screaming and ran towards her. yuqi took aim.

"yuqi, no!" shuhua shouted with all her last remaining strength, lifting her head, "don't shoot!"

but then a dark curtainhas fallen across her visual field and her head fell back to the ground. just before she lost all her connection with the world, she heard a gunshot.

yuqi missed it. she started running back to the house as fast as she could. seeing shuhua like that weak, yuqi really wanted to save her. but at that moment, however much she wanted to help her, she couldn't, because she could only do so when she was safe. the zombie was behind her. the rain intensified. while running, yuqi's life flashed before her eyes, and her parents came to her mind. she could give everything at that moment to be in her mother's arms. then memories began to pour out rapidly in those short seconds.

yuqi was very fond of her family. she always did whatever they said. no one else could make yuqi feel the happiness her mother's beautiful smile gave her. until that day. that day she met shuhua in high school and everything changed. she had that happiness every day beside shuhua. yuqi didn't even need shuhua to smile, every moment passing by her was a reason for happiness. when yuqi couldn't stand to look at her own reflection, shuhua complimented her on how many people would rather be her, than their own selves. at yuqi's home, in her bed, they had long deep conversations for hours until they fell asleep holding each others hands tightly.

she thought it was a great blessing to meet such a source of serotonin in her high school time, but she later realized that these feelings mean more than she thought. it wasn't just friendship. it was the first time she felt this way and she couldn't accept it. even though she loved shuhua very much, she thought she should stay away from her because it was impossible for yuqi to come out to her family. however, she did not know how to do this, how to stay away from her love.

one day, shuhua said that her father beat her. when yuqi asked why, shuhua said _'i told him i am in love with a girl. with you.'_ it was also a love confession to yuqi because they never spoke out loud that they were in love with each other. yuqi felt like she was going crazy and her heart was in her mouth. on the one hand, she felt the excitement over her confession, and on the other, she felt the sadness over her hurt. yuqi wanted to be next to shuhua but was scared. in fact, she was scared not of shuhua's father, not of her own family, but only of herself. the only challenge was herself, but she was not yet aware of it.

she thought the best thing to do was to get away from shuhua without saying anything, and so she walked away without a word. she didn't even look at shuhua's face at school afterwards and asked her family to transfer herself to another school. so they did.

even after days and months, yuqi couldn't forget shuhua for a single day. she had a hard time suppressing what she felt for her. in the flower of her youth, she made a great wound on herself - and on shuhua. over the years, yuqi has come to accept her feelings. then she came out to her family and realized that there was nothing to fear. what she did to shuhua was left behind as a regret.

since her family wanted her to study psychology, she could not persuade her family to continue her life as an idol and producer. she knew it was her life, not her parents' life, and she wanted to argue, but she couldn't. then, she asked her family to enroll her at a university in korea - in which that industry succeeds the most. in this way she could be at least a little closer to her dreams of becoming an idol and producing music. her parents were somehow convinced of this and yuqi managed to enroll in a private university in korea. although she was going to study psychology, this was a step for her, she could find a way to enter the music industry there.

she met minnie in the first week of school. minnie was very soft hearted and sweet. yuqi started to like her. then they suddenly started dating. everything was going very fast. soon, minnie wanted to introduce her to a friend, and yuqi happily agreed. when she saw that friend, however, a chill ran down her back. she did her best not to show her anxiety. being an extrovert person, fortunately, she very easily hid her fear and tension. yuqi was very surprised when she saw shuhua. shuhua told what major she was studying. yuqi would never have thought that shuhua would be at the same school and same department in the same country as her. it must have been an irony of fate.

shuhua laughed and spoke about how they hadn't seen each other before in class. seemed very comfortable. yuqi realized that shuhua didn't remember her. she remembered shuhua once saying that her brain could easily erase the bad memories that hurt her so much. it was a gift. when shuhua said she wanted to meet again the next week, and this time to introduce her own girlfriend, a burden fell on yuqi's heart. but she quickly gathered herself up and said _'of course'_ with a big smile.

from that day on, yuqi began to make up lies and to believe her own lies. she maintained her own _'don't think, don't speak out, and it doesn't exist'_ rule _,_ or thought she was maintaining. and today, about a few hours ago, shuhua had confessed her love out loud, again, just like in high school. all that rule and the hidden feelings was turned upside-down with three little words.

after running for a while, yuqi threw herself to the bushes on the side to hide. later she realized that the zombie was no longer behind her. she took a breath, looked around. the moon was very bright and it was illuminating the dark sky. she thought of that memory with shuhua from the past.

_'sun or moon?'_

_'moon, you?'_

_'sun. okay, cat or dog?'_

_'dogs and giraffes! you?'_

_'pft... okay then, dogs and butterflies! by the way,_ _why do you like giraffes so much?'_

_'because they are so cute. and nobody can see a giraffe crying. they're strong.'_

_'wow i want to be a giraffe now.'_ '

_"you tell me, why butterfly?'_

_'they are beautiful.'_

_'that's it? isn't there any special meaning behind it?'_

_'actually, there is. i always think it's so meaningful that how they live their short lives to the fullest, peacefully. doing no harm to anyone, they just fly freely without any objections despite their short lives. they remind us it's not the life that matters, it's how you live your life._ _'_

_'oh... i may want to be a butterfly right now.'_

yuqi was already on her way back to where she saw shuhua last, thinking about these. _'i wish i could've be with you, shuhua. if i knew then what i know now, i'd never talk to you without telling you that i love you more than anything. is it too late now? no, you're alright, you're alright.'_

when she arrived there, she saw shuhua lying still, exactly the way she left her. she was soaked to the skin, and her face was pale. yuqi rushed towards the girl and tapped her face.

"shuhua? shuhua please wake up, please. no, i can't lose you," she wrapped her arms around shuhua, her tears were falling down,"... i should've said that i love you too. wake up, shu, i will say i love you. i'll say it everyday. please wake up! don't leave me like this."


	11. FINAL CHAPTER - Part 3: prisoners of existence

* * *

for a moment, soyeon thought that yuqi and shuhua might be in danger when she couldn't see them anywwhere. then, the gunshot they just heard made her anxiety worse. as she quickly came to the entrance hall, she shouted at soojin behind her, who was trying to load the semi-automatic shotgun in her hand, "hurry up!" soyeon shouted again.

soojin was doing her best to avoid panic, but it was impossible to do so with soyeon's shouts. when soyeon saw soojin holding the gun with trembling hands, she stopped in front of the girl. she put her hands on soojin's shoulders and looked into her eyes.

"it's okay, it's okay soojin. i'm sorry i shouted. everything will be fine, nothing will happen to anyone, okay?" she said softly.

"okay." soojin nodded with her puppy-dog eyes. soyeon approached and gave peck on her lips.

"wait!" miyeon approached after them, "i'm coming too. we need light, take it." she handed soyeon one of the flashlights she held - the flashlights with full battery that had never been used because they had decided to use them in an emergency.

a few minutes ago when miyeon heard the gunshot, she was leaving minnie's room. the last time when she heard a gunshot from outside - while waiting at home with yuqi - things didn't go well. as she was sorry that she couldn't have been able to help her friends before, she wanted to do something this time. that's why she immediately came after them.

"did you bring your gun?" soyeon asked, taking the flashlight from the older one.

"yes," miyeon said, putting the other flashlight in her pocket. then, she took the gun she had put on the entryway table. and she went out with the girls.

"where's minnie?" asked soojin.

miyeon glanced at soyeon's face as she answered, "i don't know."  
they made eye contact, but soyeon didn't say anything.

then suddenly, they heard yuqi's cries for help. her voice was so close.

"quickly!" soyeon started running, the others followed.

the rain was heavily coming down from the sky. soojin ran quickly while miyeon was running with her on the other side. soyeon was a step ahead. then, before they got too far, miyeon saw yuqi carrying shuhua and trying to walk. she, with pistol on her waist and shuhua in her arms, was in tears. miyeon rushed over them. shuhua's head was hanging back and her pale skin was even paler.

"oh my god! what happened to her? shuhua!" miyeon began to shout questions in fear. her hands were trembling and her fear was growing inside.

yuqi couldn't speak, she couldn't even breathe properly from crying. miyeon kept her cool to help them out although tension and fear was flowing in her veins. she immediately approached yuqi and checked shuhua's breath.

"she's breathing!"

soyeon came after and checked her pulse.

"her pulse is very slow and barely palpable," taking a breath, she summarily gave instructions to miyeon, "okay, take her home right away with yuqi. wash that bleeding wound with normal saline and wrap it in gauze. then i want you to inject 1mg of atropine into her muscle every 5 minutes, 3mg max dose in total. if it doesn't work and her heart rate doesn't increase, you're going to inject dopamine. they're all ready in the bunker treatment room, the names of the drugs are written on the syringes. got it?"

soyeon was a person who is too curious and have a rough knowledge of almost everything. in her spare times, she had read the prospectuses of drugs they brought from outside in case it might be needed in an emergency.

"wait, what if i hurt her? no, i can't-"

"i'll do it," said minnie from behind them. for a few minutes she had been there, quietly trying to get over the shock of the situation. she'd heard the gunshot too and had left the house with her rifle immediately after.

"yuqi, pull yourself together! let's go!" she shouted.

yuqi did what she said, and she carried shuhua to the house with minnie. miyeon stared blankly behind them as they headed home. soyeon touched her shoulder and pulled miyeon out of that blank, "we should go to the airfield to pick up mr.yeh, are you coming? if you want to stay, i understand. but decide quick!"

"we need to get the medicine as soon as possible. shuhua may be turning into one of them." soojin added after soyeon with shaking voice.

"let's take him!" miyeon said, moving towards the garage.

***

when yuqi entered the house, she felt that she couldn't carry shuhua anymore. she slowly put her down. minnie closed the door and dropped her gun in the corner. she lit the oil lamp on the entryway table first. then, bend over next to the top of the shuhua's head, grasped her clothing underneath the shoulders, "hold her legs!" she ordered.

yuqi held shuhua's legs as minnie said, and together they carried shuhua. it was dark but they could see thanks to the moonlight coming through the windows.

"we can't take her to the bunker this way. let's put her on the sofa, i'll get the necessary medical stuffs." said minnie.

they came into the great room and laid shuhua gently on the sofa. minnie rushly went to the library to go down the bunker. yuqi went back to the foyer and took the lamp and the gun to the great room. she put the gun on the ground beside the sofa. she sat down on her knees, face against shuhua. she felt enough regret to hate herself. she thought about how she wasted her time with shuhua. then, she put her head on shuhua's shoulder and started to cry again.

"will you be okay shuhua? if anything happens to you... i can't live without you. do you hear me?"

after a little while, minnie came. without wasting time, she asked yuqi to roll up shuhua's shorts, as she took out the air from the syringe. she inserted the needle into her thigh, and pushed the plunger to inject the medicine. then she withdrew the needle. after that, she washed shuhua's wound with normal saline and wrapped the gauze around. yuqi held the lamp to help her see properly. a few minutes later, shuhua breathed in hard with her eyes wide open.

"shuhua!" yuqi cried.

shuhua suddenly clenched her jaw, and her body started to shake with uncontrollable jerking movements.

"minnie what's happening?"

"i-i don't know. hold her!"

yuqi left the lamp on the floor and held shuhua's arms so she wouldn't hurt herself. minnie tilted her head, lifted her chin and thrust her jaw to help her breathe. shuhua kept moving uncontrollably and breathing fast and deep.

"how much dose you gave her?"

"3mg."

"what?! she said 1mg every 5 minutes, minnie! not 3mg in one go!" yuqi shouted.

"we can give 3mg if necessary. her condition was bad!" minnie shouted her back.

"how do you know? huh? look at her! it made her worse!"

"i learned it with soyeon! also don't act like i wanna kill your girlfriend okay?"

"what the fuck?!"

"yeah i-"

"no minnie! look!"

yuqi pulled herself away as shuhua sat up. her eyes were red like the others. yuqi was very scared after seeing her like this. sensing her fear, shuhua screamed and started running towards her. before yuqi could do anything, shuhua jumped over her and tried to get her fingers into yuqi's eyes and ears.

"stop! shuhua! it's me, yuqi!"

shuhua didn't listen to her and kept attacking. yuqi tried to push her to keep distance between them. minnie reached out and tried to pull shuhua away, but her strength was so incredible that minnie couldn't move her even an inch.

"pull her when i push her!" yuqi cried out.

she threw shuhua away with all her might, as minnie pulled her away from yuqi. then, the theory that soyeon was talking about sometime came into yuqi's mind.

' _... so because of this, i think they won't attack if we don't show fear.'_

minnie threw shuhua and sat on her to gain some time.

"yuqi, grab that needle with diazepam written on it!"

yuqi quickly got up. but shuhua pushed minnie hard and stood up again in no time. she rushed over yuqi and made her fall to the floor on her back. she then, grasped yuqi's neck and tried to choke her. yuqi tried to think cute things about shuhua to calm herself, but it was useless, she was still in fear.

shuhua tightened her grip, making yuqi's face turn red. when her gaze met with shuhua's eyes, she saw her reflection on it. this was like a metaphor for her.

_'i'm not afraid of you. it's all about me.'_

her fear decreased as she repeated this sentence through her head. shuhua loosened her grip when she could no longer feel the adrenaline in yuqi's body.

' _i won't make the same mistake again.'_

they stayed still in that position for a second before minnie came and pulled shuhua. she caught her arms and locked them tightly behind her back. shuhua didn't resist.

yuqi got up and grabbed the lamp to look for the needle minnie asked. she found it, and minnie saw her.

"no yuqi, on second thought, maybe it would be dangerous for her now. let's just try not to show any fear."

"o-okay." yuqi nodded and put the needle back in the kit. as the tension faded, they slowly began to realize the terrible situation they were facing.

***

soyeon got out of the car in a rush as soon as it stopped. they had arrived the airfield, but there was no trace of jiahao. soojin and miyeon left the car after soyeon. it'd stopped raining. miyeon opened the trunk of the car and took the slings.

"here, put this on. carry your gun with it." she gave one to soojin and took the other herself.

"he should have come by now. what time is it?" soyeon asked, turning the girls.

"uh, i forgot my watch on the countertop." soojin said.

"it's okay, i'm sure 2 hours had passed already. he must be here."

when they heard a plane approcahing afterward, the lighting on the runway was activated.

"yes! there he is." soyeon said.

"wait-" miyeon looked around, "lights are on? is there electricity? how?!"

"how is... how is this even possible?" soojin asked soyeon.

"don't ask me, how do i know that?"

"we're about to learn." said miyeon, staring at the plane with a fierce look.

after the plane landed on the runway, they got in the car again and went near. keeping a safe distance, miyeon stopped the car, "don't go out, wait."

jiahao got off the plane with two other people. they were unarmed, and one was carrying a steel box. jiahao saw the car and raised his hand as if he was trying to say _'it's okay'_.

soyeon looked at miyeon who was beside her, then she looked at soojin at the back, "let's get out."

miyeon and soojin walked before soyeon to cover her up. they were holding their guns tightly, aiming at them. jiahao told the other two to stay behind and approached the girls with his hands up.

"it's jiahao," he said and pointed at the one, "this is my friend, he is my private pilot," then he pointed at the other one who was carrying the box, "and this is our savior. the scientist i talked about."

"what is in the box?" soyeon asked. meanwhile, miyeon was getting suspicious, _'didn't he say that scientist was a woman?'_

"it's the medicine... guys! the zombies, they are everywhere. if you don't stop this behaviour, we're gonna die. can you please lower your weapons?"

"what about the lights? how can the lights work when there is no electricity?" miyeon asked.

"it's complicated. i'll explain you later. trust me."

soyeon wanted to hear all the answers, but she thought about shuhua. there was no time to waste. miyeon took a look at soyeon and saw her nodding. then, she did what jiahao told, so did soojin.

"okay, can you open the trunk?" jiahao asked.

the scientist put the box in the trunk, while the pilot closed the door of the jet. three of them sat at the back seat, soyeon and soojin sat in the front, squeezing each other a little. miyeon started the car and they made their way home as fast as possible.

***

"was it necessary to tie her up so tight? she already calmed down."

shuhua was on the floor, her back against the wall, next to the door of the library. she was tied up with bandages.

minnie sat down, "because we should be careful?!"

"from what?" yuqi said, sitting on the sofa across from minnie.

"are you-" minnie sighed, "look, yuqi. i'm sorry. i'm really sorry, but... get this straight," she felt a lump in her throat and looked like she was about to cry, "... she is changed."

"no, she is still shuhua. she is still our friend and we will make her healthy again." yuqi said with a shaky voice.

"i know sweetie, she will be fine. but now, she is not. so we have to be careful. okay?"

yuqi had her elbows on her knees with her face in her hands. minnie got up and sat down next to her to give a hug. yuqi rested her head on minnie's chest and held her hand.

"so, you know about..."

"yes."

"i don't know what to say. i'm so sorry."

"no, i am sorry. i should've treated you better."

yuqi raised her head and looked at the girl, "it's not about you, minnie. you've always been so kind and sweet to me. somewhat bittersweet but it's okay. i really love you. it's just not the love we're looking for."

"no matter what, i don't regret being with you. you're like my family. after all, can we still be friends?"

"how can you be so kind? i'm really lucky to have you in my life, minnie. of course, we're still friends."

yuqi wrapped her arms around minnie and started to cry. minnie hugged her back. they let each other feel the warmth of their breath on their necks for a while. and they fell asleep right there.

***

on their way, when jiahao asked why they were in a hurry, soyeon felt like she should inform jiahao about shuhua's condition.

"um, shuhua is, she got, i mean... we found her unconscious with a open bleeding wound at the outside."

"so you have an infected case." he mumbled.

"pardon me?"

"i said don't worry. we will cure her." he looked at the boys with a straight face.

after midnight they arrived home. miyeon parked the car in the garage quick. one by one, they all entered the house from the inner door of the garage.

soyeon headed the room first. she looked around with her flashlight. yuqi and minnie was lying on the sofa, but shuhua wasn't there. she rushed to the girls, as the others came to the room.

"wake up! wake! up! where's is she?"

yuqi was the one who got up first. she literally jumped from her seat.

"why? she is there." she said, showing the empty wall. minnie woke up and rubbed her eyes.

"what the heck were you thinking?! it's not time to sleep!" miyeon shouted at them very loudly.

"she was tied up, she can't be far." minnie said.

"tied up?" soojin asked from behind.

then, the pilot guy came with shuhua to the room. she was holding her neck and threw her to the floor before them.

"the f- shuhua!" yuqi immediately ran to the girl and cover her with her body.

"are you out of your mind?" soyeon shouted.

miyeon took aim at the pilot guy and soojin did the same instinctively, aiming at the scientist.

"miyeon stop!"

"there's something not right here, soyeon."

"you're acting ridiculous. put down your damn guns!" jiahao exploded, he turned the scientist, "go help her!"

as the scientist went near shuhua, yuqi didn't want to let him touch her.

"you're wanna kill your friend?" jiahao asked, as he sat down.

yuqi couldn't answer. she withdrew herself, and the scientist prepared the medicals for the steam inhalation. he was very slow, so minnie helped him out. soyeon went next to yuqi and they sat on the floor together. miyeon and soojin kept their aim at the boys continuously during the cure. shuhua fell asleep after the inhalation.

"okay, when she wake up tomorrow, she will be healthier than us. now, let's talk." jiahao said, looking the armed girls.

miyeon and soojin looked at each other. they slowly lower their gun to listen what he would say. just then jiahao coughed. with his cough, the scientist opened something in the box and took a gun out of it. all of a sudden, he locked minnie in his arms, held the gun to her head.

"minnie!" miyeon screamed.

"don't move, or she's dead!" he barked.

all the girls were in shock. they couldn't even move a finger because of the fear.

"now, put your guns down and kick them over here towards us." jiahao said.

"you motherfucker, you are disgusting!" soyeon hissed.

"hey!" the scientist made a move and make minnie scream, "be quiet!"

miyeon and soojin dropped the guns and kicked them towards jiahao. jiahao took one and the pilot took the other.

"you can't be a father?" yuqi said.

he smiled, "girls, i'm sorry to say this but, i'm not jiahao. they call me angel. just one of the slaves of 'above'," he laughed, "...and i guess jiahao's shitting himself in a cell right now."

***

shuhua heard yuqi's voice from far away. she opened her eyes, but the light was so bright that she couldn't see anything. she felt something in her nostrils and touched it. it was a nasal cannula. she tried to open her eyes again, and this time she saw led panel lights. she wanted to get up but couldn't, because there was someone on her shoulder. as shuhua raised her hand, the someone woke up and looked at her.

"yuqi?"

"shuhua, oh god, you're awake! you, you, are you okay?

"i'm okay yuqi."

"i'll call the doctor."

"wai-"

yuqi rushed to the outside before shuhua could even speak. shuhua was so confused and couldn't understand anything. than a woman with a mask came into the room right after her. it could be said that she had a luxurious life just by looking at her outfit.

"who?"

the woman took off her mask, "hi my dear, it's been a long time."

"m-mom?"

"from now on, you and your friends are safe. we just have to wait for Purge20 to end."


	12. EPILOGUE

"yuqi! my wrist, it hurts!"

"sit down!"

"why are we in my room now? we were playing a game."

"tell me why did you lie? your father? in korea?"

"it is taiwan, yuqi. i meant taiwan. i want to know why you're so mad about this."

"i know you lie. i shouldn't be surprised though. you lie everyday."

"what do you mean?"

"nothing, nevermind."

"yuqi..."

"what?"

"okay you're right. i lie everyday."

"i knew it."

"i don't want to lie anymore."

"tell me everything then."

"okay... actually my dad's company was established in korea. we lived there till i was 10. then, my mother cheated on my father and they got divorced. mother took me with her to taiwan and i started to live there. i was nothing but a ghost for my mother. anyways, so, my father was in korea whereas we were in taiwan. i am not proud of them. i guess, i wanted to show a perfect family image to feel less unhappy. so since high school i told everyone my family lives in taiwan, together."

"shuhua, i didn't know."

"shh! keep listen, i didn't finish... for my high school education, dad called my mom and they agreed to send me abroad. and the school had a short break due to some reasons in the first year. i went to korea to see my father back then. we hadn't seen each other in a long time, but he beat me. because-"

"okay, shuhua. you don't have to continue. i learned enough."

"you said 'tell me everything'. now, you sit and listen to me. i loved a girl, yuqi. he beat me for this, but it didn't broke my heart more than when that girl left me without a word!"

"shuhua, enough!"

"you tell me i'm the liar. but you are the real liar, yuqi."

"shuhua!"

"i loved you, but god damn it! i still love you! why did you have to leave me like that? huh?"

"..."

"and now, why do we have to hide this truth?"


End file.
